MCG to procure 64 water tankers for dust control measures ahead of pollution spike

Announcing plans to hire 64 water tankers fitted with spray machines to undertake dust control measures after Diwali, officials of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) on Tuesday said that they are forced to carry out the exercise due to the insistence of the pollution control board despite the same having little impact on the ground

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) will procure 64 water tankers fitted with spray machines to undertake dust control measures after Diwali, with winter also about to set in, officials said on Tuesday.

Last year, the MCG had 40 water tankers to undertake sprinkling. Officials said that the 64 machines will be in addition to the 40 and will help with comprehensive coverage of the city for keeping pollution in check. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Bids for MCG’s tender in this regard will be opened on Wednesday and a contractor will be finalised within the week. “We are trying all possible measures to curb the spread of air pollution and dust in the city, and hence, have decided to augment our sprinkling measures by hiring more water tankers,” said Subhash Yadav, nodal officer of the environment and sustainability wing of the MCG.

However, officials of the MCG and independent experts said that water sprinkling has “minimal impact” on keeping pollution in check and called for more effective measures.

A senior MCG official, requesting anonymity, said, “Sprinkling of water for dust mitigation and controlling air pollution is impractical. The roads dry up soon after and it has no long-term impact. We objected to it during an internal district-level pollution meeting last month. However, it was dismissed by HSPCB [Haryana State Pollution Control Board].”

Independent experts also agreed to the MCG official’s view, calling water sprinkling a “largely futile exercise.”

Sachin Panwar, a city-based air quality expert, said, “Sprinkling of water has a maximum impact period of one hour, after which the road dries up and dust starts swirling around. The practice is a waste of resources and futile. Instead, the government should focus on increasing green cover around medians. Certain trees and plants with pointed leaves act as a barrier to check suspension of dust in the air.”

However, officials of the HSPCB said that sprinkling of water is an important part of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) that needs to be undertaken to control pollution.

Kuldeep Singh, regional officer (north) for HSPCB, said, “Mechanised water sprinkling is an important way to control dust pollution that impacts the air quality in the city. During the festive season, we cannot stop people from going out or vehicles moving on the roads, but we can control the impact by implementing such measures across the city. Hence, this practice is needed.”

Last year, the MCG had 40 water tankers to undertake sprinkling. Officials said that the 64 machines will be in addition to the 40 and will help with comprehensive coverage of the city.

This year, the MCG has been carrying out sprinkling since early October, even before the official implementation of Grap started across the National Capital Region (NCR) on October 15.

MCG officials said that water for sprinkling purposes will be procured from the sewerage treatment plants (STPs).